Does Financial Success Equal A Decline in Civility?

Maybe it’s just where I live or the places I go, but I have noticed in the past several years that, no matter the situation, the level of rudeness has increased. Whether it’s a the grocery store or an athletic event, it seems that more and more people are tossing civility out the window. Some people seem to go out of their way to be mean to each other, and others treat everything as a competition. They feel like they have to get the better of you, no matter the cost or whether what they’re gaining is even worth it.

After a woman cursed me out in the grocery store the other day for daring to move her cart half a foot so I could reach an item (she was way down at the other

I think we all have bad days and sometimes take it out on some random, innocent person. It’s happened to me and feel bad once I catch myself doing it.

Having said that, there are those that think being rude/feeling entitled/displaying bad manners is ok. We need to step back and realize that children take cues from their parents/adults and so we are doing ourselves a disservice by role modeling bad behavior.

I’m only 47 but in the 60’s you were polite for many reasons. One my parents would punish us if we weren’t. Two there was someone home to punish us, mom then later in the day, dad. Three, when you live in a community that depends on each other you can be excluded and lose your job if you couldn’t control your household (they would find a way to get rid of you, jobwise). Four, it was an accepted society norm. It wasn’t all about me and what I want and makes me feel good. It was unacceptable to mainstream society to act rude. We were taught that society would become violent and out of control without appropriate behavior.

Money does corrupt and make people less civil. When people get money, they think that the money can replace common courtesy. They think flashing a $100 allows them to be rude. I find it all rather disgusting.

I’ve noticed that people seem ruder lately and so I go out of my way to not be rude and to be cheery. To be sure that when someone opens a door for me that I say thank you so that they can hear, especially if it is a child I want them to know I appreciate it and to encourage them to continue. I walk with a cane and it amazes me how indifferent people are to disabled people, pushing through doors and letting it slam in my face, etc. I feel sorry for them having no manners or such a bad day that they can’t take a minute to be kind to someone else.

I moved to a small town where people are polite as opposed to the large city I came from where rude people were every where . Yet in my neighborhood they remain isolated . My husband and I have tried to have neighborhood block partie’s no one is interested . We feel if we know our neighbors we can look out for each other in case of trouble . If you go online you can easily find convicted felons living near you . I think this is a contributing factor to the disconnect . We just don’t know if our neighbor’s are trust worthy . Who knows when some one will snap ?? It is also a sign of moral polution when manners break down and people become rude . Something is spiritually rotten and a sign that we are living in a post Christian era . Do unto others as you would have them do unto you .

Excellent article buddy. I agree with you in many ways, and sometimes also wonder how much better life quality would be in our society if ethics and human values were given the importance they deserve in the educational process. We need to teach our future generations to care for the human being and see the entire world